I know it’s been a bit of a while since I last wrote. I hadn’t meant to be away from the blog for so long.
But the silver lining of that long delay is that I have a lot more to write about… Continue reading
Eddie Felan
The Magnolia Chronicles, Days 4-6: Wrap Stars
Were I to put a lesson to the production of Magnolia, it would have to be that patience, persistence, and preparation ultimately pay off. (Were I to put a lesson to my blogging, it might be that I rely a little too heavily on alliteration – but that’s a post for another day…)
Over six weeks, we’d had to make occasional adjustments for locations, actor availability, and especially the weather. We’d faced drought one week, deluge the next. But Nikki and Chadd had brought a great team together, so we were able to keep moving forward, knowing that as long as we kept doing our work, it would still come together.
And in our last weekend of principal photography, it really did come together. Continue reading
The Magnolia Chronicles, Days 2 & 3: Our Time In The Adjustment Bureau
It pretty effectively goes without saying that filmmaking, especially independent filmmaking, is a process of adjustments. The unexpected will happen; there’s no way around that. And while I’m not entirely convinced it’s possible to expect the unexpected – if you could, it wouldn’t really be unexpected, would it? – it’s still possible to prepare for it, to be ready to make the necessary adjustments to get the shot.
Over the last few days of production, Magnolia has been an object lesson in how to be ready. Continue reading
The Magnolia Chronicles, Day 1: Matters Of Degrees
My first experience as a PrimaDonna production assistant (a PDPA, if you will) was on Dating Danielle, almost exactly 5 years ago this weekend. I have a lot of great memories of those 48 hours, but one of the greatest has to be the spirit that developed between cast and crew, as we all bonded while shooting on one of the hottest days of the year.
August is funny that way… Continue reading
Give Me Some Light: Luminaria Reignited
They say into each art some rain must fall… or at least they would if I were They.
It was a lesson learned back in March, when organizers of Luminaria: Arts Night in San Antonio found themselves faced with the threat of storms on the very day they had planned to hold the city’s biggest arts gathering. After considerable discussion, they took the side of safety and postponed the event from March 10 to May 5.
I’d have been there under any circumstances, of course. But as Nikki was scheduled to MC one of the music stages (having done the job before, two years ago, she was invited back for this year), I wanted to be there to support her and take pictures. So, I made sure to keep the new day open on my calendar.
Lee Hurtado, Writer 