Well, we completed filming the majority of the third season of The House Between on Saturday night, after a fashion anyway. We had a pretty grueling week, environmentally-speaking (no air conditioning, and lots of noise in the area: planes, trains and automobiles...not to mention line-dancers and drunks...).
As a result of these difficulties, we had to re-tool our fifth story, "Exposed" and combine it with the finale, "Resolved." We lost about twenty pages of "Exposed" that we just couldn't get to, because we couldn't make up the time. Which led to Tony Mercer's amusing observation that "Muir pages are like Dog Years," meaning that they take a long time to learn and film.
So now we have four regular episodes, and a long final episode. As for me, I learned to live on four hours of sleep a night for a week, and "found my voice," as Hillary Clinton might say -- my inner dictator -- to help push us past the finish line (with some help from my friend, Rob Floyd, whom I empowered on the last day to serve as the production "enforcer.") Rob kept his cell-phone clock in plain view, and kept us from going off-track or losing time. Thanks, Rob!!! We wouldn't have made it without you!!!
As I expected, the cast and crew were wonderful despite all the hardships. The actors embraced the material and did a terrific job, even amidst 18-hour days and extreme heat. Nobody had a big temper flare-up on set, and nobody tried to kill me. At least that I know of. Behind the scenes, Rick Coulter, and Bobby Schweizer wrangled the lights and cameras, and kept us moving ahead.
Today, I'm incredibly sleepy - and yet still missing the cast and crew, and the characters. We have some big treats in store for viewers this year, including one surreal horror episode about a killer clown, and another great episode about a body switch.
Now, I have hundreds of hours of footage to sift through as the editing process begins.
But first...a nap.
As a result of these difficulties, we had to re-tool our fifth story, "Exposed" and combine it with the finale, "Resolved." We lost about twenty pages of "Exposed" that we just couldn't get to, because we couldn't make up the time. Which led to Tony Mercer's amusing observation that "Muir pages are like Dog Years," meaning that they take a long time to learn and film.
So now we have four regular episodes, and a long final episode. As for me, I learned to live on four hours of sleep a night for a week, and "found my voice," as Hillary Clinton might say -- my inner dictator -- to help push us past the finish line (with some help from my friend, Rob Floyd, whom I empowered on the last day to serve as the production "enforcer.") Rob kept his cell-phone clock in plain view, and kept us from going off-track or losing time. Thanks, Rob!!! We wouldn't have made it without you!!!
As I expected, the cast and crew were wonderful despite all the hardships. The actors embraced the material and did a terrific job, even amidst 18-hour days and extreme heat. Nobody had a big temper flare-up on set, and nobody tried to kill me. At least that I know of. Behind the scenes, Rick Coulter, and Bobby Schweizer wrangled the lights and cameras, and kept us moving ahead.
Today, I'm incredibly sleepy - and yet still missing the cast and crew, and the characters. We have some big treats in store for viewers this year, including one surreal horror episode about a killer clown, and another great episode about a body switch.
Now, I have hundreds of hours of footage to sift through as the editing process begins.
But first...a nap.
Today I'm compiling the production report for season three so that John can locate all the footage when he begins editing (god help him). For the record, I'd like to submit the following stats:
ReplyDeleteIn first season, we shot 228 script pages in 7 days. In second season, we shot 305 pages in 8 days. In third season, we shot 235pages in 6 days.
Amend that: 208 pages in 6 days (with more to be shot on a pickup day). Still pretty damn impressive.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to everyone, cast and crew, on completion of filming THB 3.0! I look forward to seeing the episodes next year when they air.
ReplyDeleteAs I am always the LAST person to contribute anything to THB, I miss all the fun (and hard work) that goes on during filming. Forever cursed to be the exiled member of the THB crew... :-)
Some day...I'll get to meet you all in person. Til then, good job!
Mateo Latosa
I forgot to mention --
ReplyDeleteI also lost six pounds last week while filming THB. If only we'd shot for two weeks, I'd be down to my ideal weight...
JKM