Whew.....I feel practically jet-lagged.
What an interesting and unusual experience.
A good friend of mine who is based in Toronto, but whom is originally from the Niagara Penninsula, has been dabbling in video and 8mm short film. He's also a local independent musician, and honestly, the NICEST person you could ever meet. He and his girlfriend have been working together for quite some time.
This year, he was approved for a grant to produce an independent film.
Guess who, got to play a role in it? Uh-huh, you're looking at him.
Actually, quite a few people from Toronto's independent music community were asked to play roles. We were given a script (110 pages), and we were designated a role. I was a fellow named: "Pete" - the drug dealer. That was hilarious. But it's funny how you end up taking on a role, and also having to dress up or down for a part/scene.
We shot yesterday on an incredibly beautiful part of the Niagara Escarpment. For those of you unfamiliar with what that is, well...if you've been to Niagara Falls, Ontario/New York - it is the land formation that goes from Lake Huron snaking through southern Ontario until it meets up with the Niagara River at Niagara Falls, thus the falls pouring over THAT part of the escarpment, which has a higher elevation.
The view was awesome. We were perched some 180-210 feet above the vista below us. The canopy of hardwood trees and of course, the small town of Grimsby, Ontario was neatly laid out below us. Lake Ontario was to the north of us, and we could see across the lake and see Toronto (70kms/43miles) from way up high. Very neat-o!
A scene which may take only 1 minute to talk through, took hours to do. Terms, film wordspeak, all new to me, but as the day went on, it began to make sense. It was quite an incredible set-up, and the people were great to work with. We were well fed, given transportation to and from the film site, and money for bus fare (Greyhound) or (regional transit).
The movie, btw, is called: GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH
It should be ready by the end of this year, and previewed at one of the film festivals here in Toronto, spring 2004.
I'll keep you posted.
No worries, I won't be quitting my day (night) job as a result.
I'll post pictures soon, once they are ready.
Broke wind, no legs.
Rayzorblade of the 8mm class.