Updating Paige & the Noisy Crickets!

Updating Paige & the Noisy Crickets!

hey friends,

last night was the Premiere of the pilot episode of “Updating Paige.”

it was part of the “Web Series Unplugged” series that shows at El Cid. it’s a pretty cool idea to have a venue for these sorts of projects. and to create a place where the people who are making them can come together and interact.

the show went extremely well, we got a LOT of laughs. and not to toot our our horn too much…but we definitely stood out among the crowd.

a fair amount of our cast and crew were there, plus some of my filmmaker friends from other projects. it was really cool to introduce Tony & Carey, the producer and editor of APT. 5 that had NEVER met before.

“Updating Paige” was actually shot quite a while ago…in fact, it was the week after we filmed “Certified.” it was a pretty fun shoot, but a couple of things stick out in my head.

first, it was HOT. really really hot. like record breaking 110+ degree heat. luckily it was a night shoot, but even still…that sort of heat will drain you.

sorry, I don’t have any pictures illustrating “sweaty and tired” but here’s one of me goofing around.

strikin' vogue

second, the crickets.

we were shooting at night, but the story takes place during the day. this isn’t a huge deal. day-for-night and night-for-day shoots are done all the time. we got a couple shots when we first set up where you could SEE outside while the sun was still up.

Paige & Stacy

these would help reinforce the idea that the story took place during the “day.” the rest of the shoot it would be up to our talented director of photography, Matt Irwin, and his crew to craft the light in such a way that when a person watches the final piece, they would automatically think “day.”

the space was rather large, and because of our budget Matt did not have a ton of lights to work with…but they DID it. sometimes when I’m watching it I forget that we shot a LARGE percentage of the project after midnight. I don’t think anyone would ever pick up on this…and that’s a good thing.

Matt & Luke

however, there was an issue with sound. a very distinct “nighttime” sound that kept coming around.

namely, crickets.

when you are trying to sell the location “coffee shop during the day” a bunch of noisy, nonstop chirping crickets do NOT assist you in the endeavor.

and the inside of our location didn’t help matters. it had high ceilings, a tin roof, and exposed pipes and duct work that the little buggers would hide behind.

we sent PA’s up on ladders. we had grips clap and stomp their feet. we stopped and waited. heck, we even PRETENDED to call “action” to get them to start.

we’d smash a few, scare a few, and trick a few…but then they’d be back.

finally we just had to say “heck with it” and just keep filming. the crickets weren’t going to leave and at this rate…neither were we.

and some of us had to work in the morning. (myself included)

so we powered through and finally wrapped at about 3:30am. I was able to get a cool 4 ish hours of sleep before heading to work for a 9am session.

but in the end…my amazing sound guy, Steve Romero came through. the crickets are gone. in fact, I DEFY anyone to find any cricket sounds in the final video.

and here’s your chance to try –

-Luke

p.s. there was also a yelling landlord…but that’s another story for another less-digital time.

3 Comments
  • kirks
    Posted at 23:21h, 22 March Reply

    yelling landlords… haha. its only funny now. kind of.

  • Barak
    Posted at 23:53h, 24 March Reply

    Yeah its amazing how those damn bugs disappeared. Nice job man.

    • Luke
      Posted at 06:49h, 25 March Reply

      just one of the many benefits of a good post sound mixer. not the first time Steve has saved me!

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